Emotiva amps are very good for the money, but there are definitely better amps. If you really need a 5 channel amp with that much power, it’s hard to beat Emotiva. However, stock Emotiva is quit bright. I have found you can tame an Emotiva pretty okay by switching out the fuses to Isoclean (adds warmth and takes the edge off the brightness). If you are only doing 2-channel music, it’s better to put that money towards a better amp. Class D is a good technology that is efficient and provides a lot of power for the size. However, compromises are made in the circuit architecture which essentially translates to inability in the higher frequencies. These can be presented as a flatter more sterile sound. It depends on your listening. I have found Class D to lack air, life and excitement. I would probably look towards something like a Parasound A23 and upgrade the fuse to silver Hi Fi Tuning Supreme. Parasound 2125 is another good one for less money. Odyssey Audio Khartago is an excellent option. These are all in the "under $600" range. |
By the way, the Klipsch R28F are very efficient (98db) and are 8 ohm speakers, so they really are not hard to drive. You really don't need a high power 250 watt amp. 100-125 watts is more than enough (which is why I'm steering you towards the higher sound quality amps in the 100-125 watt range). |
Hi Justin - I own the Class D Audio CDA 250 amp that you are referring to. I purchased it about 6 months ago and could not be happier with the amp. If you are in this hobby for any appreciable time, you will research at some point the different classes of amps and how class D amps work as compared to class A, the more traditional AB, and so on. Class D amps (the circuits, not the company) have not enjoyed the best of reputations, mostly because the earlier implementations of this circuit type have sounded sterile as auxinput has noted. Enter the company, Class D Audio. The amps manufactured by this company do not sound sterile, quite the opposite. I am finding the CDA 250 very musical and not at all fatiguing. I swapped out my tube amp and am using the Class D Audio in my main system and I am pleased. Granted I am running different components than you are and I am not sure how your Onkyo will perform as a preamp only, which will be the bigger determinant of the sound you get. The Onkyo is a receiver and I owned some variant of this receiver 20 years ago and while it was a good receiver, I am not sure how well if it would stand alone as a preamp. There are better amps for your money than the Emotiva. You lose nothing by trying the Class D Audio CDA 250 and see how it goes with your Onkyo. It will definitely be an improvement over the Onkyo alone, though I would not be surprised if you go preamp shopping down the road. As an aside, if you are considering an integrated amp solution, Upscale Audio has a special on the Musical Fidelity M2SI integrated. A $1000 amp for $600. This would fit your bill nicely. https://www.upscaleaudio.com/collections/sweet-deals/products/musical-fidelity-m2si-integrated-ampli...Rich |
I think Parasound would be a good fit with Klipsch, you can even get the 275 model which has about 90 watts per channel. They can be had for under 400 used for sure. But the 2125 or A23 are solid options.
im not sure if that Onkyo has pre outs for an amp, but if it does you’re all set. |
Great point 213.
The Onkyo does have pre outs for an amp connection.
Rich |
Rar, Looks like you got your post in just before I made the post about Parasound.
i can’t comment on class D, but great point on the Onkyo as pre, it would become the weak link for sure. |
Thank you so much for all your help and inputs. I feel like I learned something new about music world. So my only purpose now is for stereo music, I will not buy the Emotiva XPA 5, and will look in to Parasound, Class D Audio and other Amps 2 channel. I like to buy separately amp and pre amp so I can upgrade later on. |
Oh! Recently, there is a local guy has a Niles SI-2125 and wants to sell it for $200. Is it a good amp? And if it is, is it a good deal? Should I go for used one or new one? |
Have the XPA-5 Gen 2 amp and have been using it for 3 years; it is excellent. You can switch from 5 to 2 channels with a pre (use the XMC-1 myself) and it makes going from movies to music effortless. If you mainly/only listen to music I would recommend you stick with a stereo setup; the XPA-5 is not necessary for this. Most music is mixed for stereo and you get a better soundstage with two speakers and channels. Even a subwoofer will interfere with low bass imaging (2 are much better). |
Niles is a company that makes distribution amps (such as 8 or 10 channel amps) for multi-room audio. It is probably an okay amp, but nothing special. I would probably assume that it isn't any better than your Onkyo 2-channel receiver. |
Having owned an Emotiva XPA-5 and now a Class D Audio SDS-470, the 470 is far superior in air, detail, imaging and overall sound balance than the XPA-5. As another person said, it is a bit bright and probably is not a good match with your Klipsch. When I owned a set of Klipsch Heresy II's, I ran them with a Parasound HCA-1205 amp. Smoother sounding than the Emotiva that I had. For me, the Class D Audio is the best sounding Class D amp that I have owned. Even better sounding than my Wyred4Sound ST-250 or Rotel Class D amp. |
Thank you so much auxinput, crail59, 213runnin and rar1 !
How about Acurus and Adcom amp: are they good? I found the 2 amps on local Craigslist: Acurus A250 and Adcom gfa 555, they both sell for $350? Which one is better and is the price right?
thanks again! |
|
Thanks Auxinput! I will check out these amps and web.
how about the Emotiva A-300 for $399 free shipping? I am planning buy A-300 first then later will buy the preamp PT-100 for $299. Total about $700. What do you think? Please advise! |
If you are planning to buy the A-300 why are you inquiring about the other amps/preamps. |
Oh! 1 more question: I also have the Klipsch R-12SW SUBWOOFER goes with R28F, just wondering how I can connect the Sub to the Amp to have 2.1? The Onkyo TX-8555, which I have now, has a pre-out sub. |
@ericsch! Because I don’t know which amp is good for my speakers and also not break the bank. I am just searching around now.
|
My same comments on Emotiva XPA-5 also apply to A-300. If you really want a brand new amp with that much power, Emotiva is hard to beat. But you can easily get a used amp that is significantly better! Emotiva Preamp - same thing. They are rather lackluster in the midst of other preamps, but if you really want a NEW product, it's hard to beat. Preamps are actually a lot harder to buy cheaply than amps. You have to spend a good amount of money before you are able to get something decent. If you are looking for sound quality, this Vincent is probably the minimum I would recommend (it's all manual source selection and volume - no remote): http://tmraudio.com/components/preamplifiers/vincent-sa-31-stereo-line-preamplfier-sa31/ The Vincent is actually a quite excellent performer. It get's hard to find a good preamp without spending $600-700 or more. If you want bargain basement, look at Schiit Saga. You can then upgrade the tube to something like Electro-Harmonix 6SN7 to get better resolution. http://www.schiit.com/products/saga If you're willing to spend more, Schiit Freya for $699 is outstanding. If you want to stay on the solid-state side, Parasound P5: https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649439594-selling-parasound-p5/ Hope this helps. |
For your subwoofer, you will most likely have to get a couple RCA splitter cables like the following: https://www.amazon.com/AudioQuest-splitter-female-15-24cm-cable/dp/B000GUSQJG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1528944801&sr=8-2&keywords=audioquest+splitter You would connect the splitter cables to the right/left RCA outputs on your preamp. The splitters allow you to further connect separate left/right RCA cables to the amp (for main speakers) and to the subwoofer inputs. Sometimes you can get an amp that has 2 sets of RCA outputs. The Vincent has two sets. On your Onkyo preamp, you can use the single RCA subwoofer output on the back/top for the Klipsch subwoofer. Just connect it to either the left or right input on the sub. NOTE: Even though the Schiit preamps have 2 sets of outputs, you can only use one at a time. The Parasound P5 actually has an analog crossover built in so that you can split the frequencies between MAIN RCA outputs as separate SUB RCA outputs. |
Thanks Auxinput!
Is Carver CT-28V a good preamp? At the price of $175. Thanks
|
@rar1 I read somewhere here you have/had a Adcom pream GTP-500, how do/did you like it? There is a guy he has A GTP-500 and a GFA-535 for sale for $200? What do you think? Are they Adcom will work ok with my Klipsch?
|
